Transformations Series: Amy Perrin

Throughout the month of July, we collected lifestyle and fitness transformation story submissions from hundreds of people in the spirit of motivation, inspiration, and, of course, the chance for one lucky fitness freak to receive their very own 6 Pack Fitness gym bag.

With all these amazing stories coming in, we knew that we wanted to highlight some of the most interesting transformations. We wanted to showcase people from all across the fitness spectrum, from those who underwent extreme weight loss to those who had to overcome mental barriers.

We're beginning our Transformations Series with the story of one kickass woman who changed her lifestyle, became fitter than ever, and has now even become one of our Ambassadors!

Meet Amy Perrin, a 26-year-old former dental hygienist, who just quit her job to go all in with health and fitness. She discovered her real passion in training and helping other people to achieve their peak performance, but it wasn't always this way.

Amy's journey to fitness superstardom was all about mentally transforming herself. Before she got serious about her body, she was eating 1000 calories a day during the week and then binge eating on the weekends. She started working out when she was 25, but even though she was doing cardio 4 times a week for 60 minutes a time, she stayed â€œskinny fat." Being fit is an overall experience, and Amy had to learn how to incorporate the proper nutrition into her life as well.

In July of 2012, Amy decided to start a fitness Instagram. She started following people who eat clean, post healthy recipes, and live a healthy lifestyle. She was eating 3-4 avocados a day, but needed to learn moderation. She took to the Internet to help her discover what was right for her body. She realized that she functions much better on clean foods, and her current diet is now focused on low carbs, high protein, and good fats.

â€œIf you want something as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful."

A critical moment for Amy was when she realized that she had fallen in love with the whole process and simply stopped looking at the scale. The numbers just don't matter as much anymore when you look at your body from a full-scale fitness angle, rather than strictly pounds, calories, and data. In fact, Amy wore a bigger size when she weighed 118 pounds than she does at 128, yet she couldn't BE more fit.

At first, Amy thought she could work out for two months and get magazine-style abs. But it's not quite that easy, and Amy learned that if you want permanent results, you have to make permanent changes. She didn't want to compete as an end goal; she competes because she trains, and not vice versa.

Another part of Amy's transformation was to learn to listen to her body. If she's tired, she rests. If she feels great, she will work out 7 days a week! It's all about paying attention inwardly, to your own body, and acting accordingly. One piece of advice from Amy: â€œConsider making Monday your rest day because that's when everyone is at the gym and doing their mental â€˜reset.'"

â€œI have a passion for helping people and making other people feel good, confident, and love themselves and the skin they're in!"

Amy listens to Eric Thomas, motivational speaker, before she works out, and his message is all about winning today, and not looking too far ahead or getting stuck in the past. This attitude goes hand-in-hand with accepting the challenges as much as the successes. When you focus on winning today, you're not so worried about yesterday or tomorrow, and you can move towards your goals day-by-day, step-by-step.

Amy discovered 6 Pack Fitness through Dana Linn Bailey's Instagram account, and she got her first gym bag (the Executive 500) last April. â€œAll I wanted were abs! But in order to get killer abs, you have to stay super committed and super structured," Amy said. With a 6 Pack Bag, that structure is made ten times easier. Amy travels a lot for work, so her next 6 Pack Bag is hopefully going to be the Expedition 500 for the convenience of the laptop holder.

Thanks to her passion for fitness, the structure and organization that a 6 Pack Bag can help provide for traveling and meal prep, and her own mental transformation, Amy Perrin's life is completely changed. She's having the biggest year of her life, and she can't wait for what the future holds in store.

Her most recent competitions have been the NPC Bikini, held on August 2nd in Baton Rouge and again on August 16th in Lafayette. Amy took first place in her class both times, which qualifies her to complete at Nationals in Vegas next year! We'll definitely be rooting for her the whole way.

One of the things that has made a huge difference for Amy has been documenting her journey online and opening up to other people. She wants people to know that everyone has bad days, so she documents her struggles as much as her successes. Follow her on Instagram at @amy_nicole03 to watch her journey unfold and get motivated and inspired with her awesome nuggets of fitness wisdom.